Why is the bottle transparent?
Prior to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 ketchup was especially difficult to produce for a long term use. The tomatoes had a very short season and would spoil very quickly. Heinz was able to produce a product that was preservative free and would also keep for a long period of time. He was big on purity and transparency and wanted his product to be shown that way through the packaging.
57 Varieties
This is a funny one. There really arent 57 varieties of Heinz Ketchup and there never has been. Heinz saw an advertisement for 21 different types of shoes and he liked it so much that he combined his favorite number (5) with his wife’s favorite number (7) to make 57 varieties. Interestingly enough the placement of the “75 Varieties” is the perfect spot to smack the bottle to get the ketchup to flow out, not the bottom of the bottle like most people think.
Overall Heinz is an example of a timeless product who’s design has stood the test over time and is recognizable generation after generation. It’s always fun to understand the reasoning/meaning designs.